Extortion lands two behind bars

KATHMANDU, DEC 12 -

Police have arrested two persons on the charges of extorting over one million rupees from several businessmen in Kathmandu.

The arrestees—Kiran Kumari Singh Rajput, 31, and Kameshwor Singh aka Abhay, 31—were arrested on Sunday. Kameshwor, who hails from Rautahat, has been identified as Bhojpura State chief of the Janatantrik Tarai Madhes Mukti Party, an underground armed outfit based in the Eastern Tarai. He is also a member of the party’s talks team, which is currently in negotiations with the Ministry of Peace and Reconciliation. Kiran Kumari is a tailor, who hails from Bhaktapur.

According to police, the duo had been using various Indian sim cards to threaten businessmen in the Capital. The Metropolitan Police Crime Investigation Division on Tuesday said they had been using notorious Indian gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s name for extortion.

One Nandu Yadav Patel of Kalaiya, of the same extortion group, is absconding, police said. Security personnel said Kiran Kumari, the mastermind, would provide businessmen’s mobile numbers to Kameshwor, who would then use Indian sim cards and threaten them with death.

“They would ask the target to deposit the money in their IME bank account and would retrieve the money from Rautahat’s Garuda Bajar in the name of one Mamata Dushad,” said the statement. “Police investigations later revealed that Dushad does not exist.”

Police also confiscated mobile sets and sim cards used by the duo. Further investigations are underway, said police.